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Deism
The Deist Creed is the single most widespread religious institution in the known world, surpassing the Holy Regency both by numbers and by geographic distribution. Ironically enough, however, the Deist Creed is not only non-invasive in its members' lives, but also lacks a fully centralized hierarchy. It is, as the clerics of the Church are proud to spread, a "Church of free will," in itself a combination of ancestor worship and actual deist belief. Currently, the number of adherents in the United Kingdoms totals about 2.3 billion, with more living in Rio, and no adherents (known to the Church, at least) living in Alba. __TOC__ Tenets The tenets of the Church of Deism are as simple as they are considered deeply spiritual. These are: #That there is a Maker; #that the Maker gave the peoples of His world free will; #that the Maker does not intrude in the lives of His people, except in cases of extraordinary times; #that the Maker may speak through these extraordinary peoples (known as Saints) via their actions, #that the Maker reincarnates all those who believe in Him at the time of their deaths. Beyond the former four tenets, only the Codex Moralis serves as a moral "rulebook," so to speak. Even so, however, the Codex has never once been claimed as a dogmatic code of conduct for the Deist Church'.' Hierarchy The Hierarchy of the Church of Deism is incredibly complex, due in part to its highly decentralized structure. Several levels exist: *The Erzbischof, the titular head of the Church of Deism. :Elected for life by a council of elder clergymen and ratified by the monarch. *The Gelehrter, or Scholars; the Keepers of Records. : Promoted to such posts, for life--barring the possibility of sacking--by the Erzbischof and ratified by the monarch. About 3,000 Gelehrter are in service. In charge of updating the Codex Moralis and keeping records of the lives and achievements of Saints and the history of the world around them. *The Bischof, the heads of the Ecclesiastic Counties. :De jure ''managers of the lower echelons of the Ecclesiastic hierarchy. About 30,000 Bischof are in service. Also serve as the '''Electors'. *The Electors Theologian (aka Electors), the college of ecclesiastic clergymen that elect the Erzbischof. :200 Electors are chosen from the two extremes of age within the Bischof whenever the college needs to meet. Further ranks exist beneath the Bischof (nearly 200 of them), but these are generally viewed as regional-based hierarchies. The four aforementioned ranks, however, are the most important within the Deist hierarchy. Deist Saints A seeming oddity within the otherwise lax Deist Church is the presence of Saints--the only feature of the Church that the United Kingdoms and the Rio Confederacy have both embraced as an integral part of their social, political, and cultural traditions. Saints are, within the Deist theological framework, instruments of the Maker in the sense that they are extraordinary paragons of one skill or another--so much so that they have forever guaranteed themselves a spot in the history books. Many, many saints exist within the framework of the Deist Church, but not all of them have found worship throughout all of the Deist-influenced lands. A brief list follows of the major Deist Saints and their attributed field of patronage. Saints of Deism Rites and Responsibilities Considering the incredibly lenient attitude of the Deist Creed, many have questioned its relevance in the public and private realms. Nonetheless, the Creed of Deism remains one of the most important pillars of Pretani society, mostly by administering rites of office to the different professions that exist within the Confederacy and the United Kingdoms. For instance, whenever Doctors graduate from universities, they are then required to take an oath to Saint Katherine, Patron Saint of Doctors and Good Health, promising to honour her memory with their future deeds. The same applies to the many other professions, whereby anyone entering any particular job typically takes a similar oath to the appropriate Saint. However, outside of these rites, the Deist Creed is also responsible for the administration and welfare of the hospitals across the United Kingdoms and the Confederacy, having been the original founders of the institutions. Their stewardship of these hospitals have also guaranteed their neutrality in the Confederate-Union War, given their universal presence in both countries. This particular responsibility arose far earlier than the Confederate-Union War, however, as it was Saint Katherine the Healer who founded the first dedicated hospital on the Pretani Isle, back during the time when the United Kingdoms were a splintered slew of independent kingdoms.